Housing Benefit – Parliamentary Written Answer

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the consequence is for entitlement to housing benefit when a claimant loses jobseeker's allowance for a period as a result of a sanction. 

Steve Webb: Housing benefit would be unaffected as long as entitlement to the sanctioned income-based jobseeker's allowance remains. Where a sanction results in cessation of entitlement to the sanctioned benefit (that is, in this case either income-based or contributory-based jobseeker's allowance), housing benefit would need to be reassessed. Additionally, regulations exist which allow sanctions to be applied to benefit payability. These provisions can affect the amount of housing benefit payable, but not where a Two Strike sanction has been applied to income-based jobseeker's allowance. Further details are at paragraphs 6.230 onwards of the Housing Benefit Guidance Manual: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/236955/hbgm-a6-deciding-and-paying-benefit.pdf